5 tips to make it easier to carry your child's school bag

Backpacks for children are available in all kinds of styles, shapes, and sizes. The problem is that our children like to follow fashion and sometimes, what they want or how they carry their school bag does not meet our expectations.

How do we know what is best for our children when it comes to their school backpack?

Every morning, our children often leave home to go to school, not only with textbooks, but also with materials for various school and extracurricular activities.

Everything needed for these long days is carried on their growing backs. Many studies recommend that children do not carry more than 10 to 15% of their body weight in their backpack. However, this can be difficult with a child's busy days. In addition, some children carry more textbooks than they should.

Although they can use lockers or take fewer books home, our children do not always know how to reduce the weight of their school bag.

So to help your child carry their school bag better, here are our top 5 tips.

Teach your child to carry their bag with both straps

It is essential that your child carries their school bag with both straps. This helps to distribute the weight of the bag well. Avoid placing the backpack with one strap over one shoulder.

Try to avoid narrow straps and prefer a backpack with wide straps that distribute the weight more evenly.

Higher is better than lower

Adjust the straps so that the backpack is high on your child's back and the straps are comfortable on the shoulders. The bag should not extend below the waist, so avoid backpacks that sag on the buttocks!

Organize your child's belongings

Books, drink bottles, lunch for the day, sports equipment... all of this can weigh down a backpack. Store heavier items in the large compartments close to your child's back and the center of the bag.

This will put less stress on the shoulders and allow for more even weight distribution. Most school backpacks will have convenient compartments for specific items, such as drink bottles and laptop sleeves.

The perfect fit

A child's backpack is very different from an adult's. Make sure the size is appropriate. The top should rest 2 to 5 cm below the top of the shoulder and the bottom should rest just on or above the top of the hip bones.

If the backpack has a waist strap or a chest strap, encourage your child to use it. Waist straps help distribute the weight load on the hips, relieving pressure on the shoulders.

A chest strap helps keep the shoulder straps in place and reduces the swinging of the backpack, especially when walking or running.

Comfort is key especially for a heavy bag!

As mentioned above, teach your children to readjust the straps when they wear different thicknesses of clothing so that they are neither too tight nor too loose. School bags should not sway from side to side when they walk.


When it comes to carrying a backpack, the combined effects of the heavy load, the position of the load on the body, the size and shape of the load, and the time spent carrying it can be associated with different joint and posture problems.

However, by implementing these five key tips, we can significantly reduce the risk of strain/injury and improve the posture of our children.